From Recycling to Newcycling®

Mr. Klaus Wohnig

From Recycling to Newcycling®

• APK at a Glance

• The Global Challenge

• APK provides a solution – Newcycling®

• Newcycling® - Process overview

• Newcycling® - Industrialization

Agenda

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

APK at a Glance

APK’s unique solvent-based physical processrecovers virgin-quality polymers from mixed plastics waste and even from multilayer films and separates individual polymer types at a quality that strongly out-performs mechanical recycling.

The focus is on PE, PP and PA, but also PET, PS, PLA and pure aluminium could be technically recovered.

The first Newcycling® plant using APK’s core technology

is currently set-up in Merseburg with over 57.000 m² for

production, administration and APK’s Plastic Recycling

Innovation Center

SOP in Q3 2018

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Supporting the Circular Economy

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

Global Challenge

The plastics recycling problem is acute,

worldwide

Globally almost 80 million tonnes of packaging plastic

waste p.a. in 2017; estimated 320 million tonnes p.a. in

2050, but less only ca. 10 % of the plastic packaging

waste is recycled. The rest ends up in incineration, is

landfilled or leaks into the environment.

The result is a growing demand from consumers and

politics for more sustainable packaging and

new recycling technologies with the target to

create a circular economy.Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

Global Challenge

Innovations in recycling needed

e.g. in S-E-Asia bans for specific plastic packagingannounced starting within the next years

E.g. EU recycling targets for plastics recycling will increase to 55/60% by 2025/2030

Circular Economy awareness is growing in leading companies

Brand equity

Consumers in highly developed countries demand morerecycled materials

Product markets

More sophisticated plastics recycling solutions are needed

Less downcycling and ideally cradle-to-cradle use of regranulates in more valuable plastic products

APK provides a solution for an important and very difficult waste stream: Mixed plastics waste including multilayer packaging films

Legislation

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

Global Challenge

The largest part of plastic waste from the private households(post-consumer waste) is a mix of different plastic types.

Although by using state of the art sorting equipment, a pure sorted separation of the different plastics is technically not possible or makes no economic sense.

Especially small-size packaging films, often with multi-layerstructure, end up in a mixed fraction.

These mixed plastic waste fractions are in most casesincinerated or converted by the conventional recyclingtechnologies to re-granulates with a quality just suitable for low value applications, such as grass pavers or pallets.

To support the goal of a circular economy and increasingrecycling targets, new answers are needed.

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Recycling of mixed plastics needed

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

Global Challenge

The challenge: The volume of multi-layer packaging is increasing. But with commonly used recycling technologies, multi-layer films cannot be recycled properly, as the different plastic layers (up to 16!) cannot be separated with mechanical technologies!

The issue: Multi-layer films in post-consumer waste are incinerated or recycled to re-granulates with a quality that is only sufficient for a limited range of applications. But thegrowing, required recycling rates can only be achieved if morehigh quality re-granulates for new applications are produced.

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Multi-layer packaging –

Today still an unsolved recycling issue ?

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

APK provides a solution - Newcycling®

With a unique solvent technology, the different polymer

types in multi-layer plastics and mixed plastic wastes can

be separated. The result are sorted re-granulates with very

high purity and properties close to virgin materials.

Moreover the process works highly economically.

Therefore the re-granulates can be offered to competitive

market prices.

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APK provides a solution!

Newcycling®

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

APK provides a solution - Newcycling®

Sustainable, high quality re-granulates at competitive costs

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

APK provides a solution - Newcycling®

Newcycling® - Re-granulates with virgin quality

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

Newcycling® - Process overview

Newcycling® Process overview e.g. for PE/PA

Sustainable plastic innovation: Closing the loop

Newcycling® - Industrialization

Q3 2018

Q1 2019

End 2020

Start of production of second plant

Production campaign with post-consumer waste in Newcycling® plant in Merseburg. And start engineering of second plant in Asia or Europe. Focus will be mixed film waste from post-consumer (post-industrial also possible) and further multi-layer structures

Start of serial production of first Newcycling® plant in Merseburg. In first stepPE/PA mulit-layer film waste from post-industrial origin will be used, in 2019 also PCR can be processed.

Thank youwww.gpca.org.ae